


'til death do us part

by chenjisthisandthat



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Ghost romance, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reunions, Romance, Tragedy, Trust the Tags!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27819202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenjisthisandthat/pseuds/chenjisthisandthat
Summary: Until death do they part. Chenle had promised that, he was ready for that. Just why, why so soon?
Relationships: Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	'til death do us part

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonkevin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonkevin/gifts).



> Merry Early Christmas, Cat!! I really hope you enjoy this ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh <3 thanks for being such an amazing friend.

The funeral is dreadful. Absolutely so. Chenle can’t seem to stop crying. He doesn’t even make it through his speech, and he certainly can’t bear to look in the casket that holds his husband’s body. 

‘A tragedy’ everyone is calling it. ‘A mistake.’ Chenle always had faith in fate: that things happened for a reason, that people die when they’re meant to die, when it’s their time. He always had faith that things worked themselves out, with little human interference. 

Chenle doubts fate for the first time in his life. He thought fate was supposed to have them  _ together _ . Not separate. Both in life, not one in death. 

Chenle hugs himself. He forgot an umbrella, but he doesn’t really care. Having an outdoor funeral was probably a stupid idea anyways.

Their wedding was outdoors, on a gorgeous spring day in May. Chenle can envision it perfectly. Jisung in his striking black suit, his hair—black at the time—styled up. He looked so handsome. Both their families made it. Jisung’s little sister was the flower girl. Jisung cried during his vows, and Chenle only barely managed to keep it in until the end. 

Until death do they part. Chenle had promised that, he was ready for that. Just why, why so  _ soon? _

Chenle cries harder. He just can’t stop. His lungs burn and it feels as though there’s a snake around his chest, constricting. 

He just wants Jisung back. That’s all he wants. He’d sell his soul for it, throw it into the wind. He doesn’t care anymore. If he becomes but an empty shell then so be it. Anything so he could be  _ alive.  _

Chenle leaves the funeral early. He has things he needs to do. He needs to call the orphanage and cancel the adoption. He needs to do the dishes. He needs to grocery shop. He needs to work out everything that happens when someone  _ fucking dies.  _

He lies in bed. 

It’s cold. Cold without Jisung by his side, without Jisung holding him. Oh, what he’d give to be held again. 

There’s a knock on his door. He ignores it. Then the doorbell rings. He ignores it still. As badly as he wants to not be alone in the drafty house, he doesn’t want to see anyone. He doesn’t walk to talk to anyone. He’s tired of hearing the same five words over and over again.  _ I’m sorry for your loss _ . Or  _ you can talk to us. _ No, he can’t. Nobody understands. Nobody knows what it’s like. 

Chenle’s alone. 

He’s never been alone before. Ever since he met Jisung, he’s been okay. He’s never been alone, never been cold. Always warm. Jisung would radiate this human warmth. 

Probably why seeing his body so cold in the hospital bed was so jarring. 

Chenle curls in on himself, hugging his knees. He feels so insignificant. The Universe has just reminded him in the most painful way possible that he is  _ nothing _ . He is at her mercy. He cannot stop her, he cannot will her away. He cannot change what she chooses. 

And she chose death. She chose Jisung’s death. She chose to kill the one person in this cruel and unusual world who made Chenle feel  _ alive.  _

In killing one, she may as well have killed both. 

Sure enough, Chenle dies not two months later. 

The Universe is cruel and unforgiving. It takes and it takes. Chenle always wondered what came after life, he just never expected to find out so  _ soon.  _

As it turns out, you become a ghost. Funny. 

Chenle heads home. He goes back to China, back to his childhood house. He doesn’t go to his own funeral. He doesn’t go to his and Jisung’s abandoned apartment. He finds his grandmother there, finding a strange warmth in her chilly embrace. 

He stays there for a couple hundred years. Despite the fact that traveling is much easier as a ghost, Chenle has no desire to go elsewhere. No desire to travel. None of that. 

He’s dead. Physically, emotionally. He has no idea where Jisung is. He has no way to contact him, no way to find them. He doesn’t even know if Jisung’s still a ghost. He could have dispersed. Gone to the wind. 

‘Til death do us part. Parted they have. 

Chenle spends his time on the roof, curled up. He doesn’t speak to anyone, he doesn’t talk to anyone. He resents being a ghost, resents still being conscious. When he is conscious, he is in pain. When he is conscious, he’s missing Jisung. Ghosts don’t sleep. The pain never eases. 

He can’t help but wonder what their apartment back in Seoul looks like now. 

He goes for a trip. He travels across the ocean, hitching a ride on top of a plane. It’s easy to find. He knows the way from the airport by heart. He’s hit with a flurry of memories as he sits on top of a taxi. He passes the school that he and Jisung were looking into, should they follow through with their plans to adopt a daughter. He passes by their favorite coffee spot, where they went all the time in college, staying into the late hours of the night, studying with a pile of coffee cups next to them, most of which being Chenle’s. Jisung never really drank coffee. The taxi even passes the old park—which looks newly renovated—where Chenle and Jisung shared their first kiss. 

If ghosts could cry, Chenle knows he’d have tears dripping down his cheeks. Instead he heaves dry sobs, barely able to breathe by the time they reach the old apartment. Not that he needs to. He’s a ghost. 

He shakily floats up the staircase to the seventh floor. The apartment is vacant when Chenle floats in, until he hears quiet humming coming from the front door. He turns around, expecting to be met with a young person, whoever lives in the apartment. He’s completely shocked to see another translucent figure. The figure raises their head. 

Chenle drops to his knees, unable to keep himself up. 

“Jisung?” He chokes. 

“Oh, Chenle.” Jisung looks surprised. “Hello.” 

But Chenle’s already crying. He falls onto his hands, sobbing. “You’re here,” Chenle cries. 

Jisung kneels in front of him, gently cupping Chenle’s cheek to raise his head. 

Never has Chenle been more grateful that ghosts can touch and feel one another. 

“Don’t cry,” Jisung whispers. “I am here. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.” 

Chenle shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I gave up. I gave up on everything.” 

“It’s okay,” Jisung says, just as soft as ever. 

And finally, finally, after a hundred years, it is okay. Jisung holds him that night, and Chenle feels truly okay. 

‘Til death do us part is leaving out a bit. What happens after death? What happens after your time is up? That is where eternity lies. 

They spend the next century together, until they decide together to disperse. To no longer be ghosts. 

One may choose a more appropriate saying. Of course, it will never be said at weddings, because nobody knows what happens after death. But Chenle does, so he’ll say it. 

‘Til dispersal do we part. 

They do it together. 

**Author's Note:**

> wow!! okay, uh, that was my first time writing MCD!! i hope you enjoyed this short story !!   
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


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